21,000 acres sold in International Paper deal

Some 21,000 acres in Burke County were sold last week as part of what's been called the largest private forestland sale in United States history.

International Paper Company sold approximately 5.1 million acres of timberland in the southern U.S. and Michigan for $6.1 billion to two investor groups, Resource Management Service, LLC (RMS) and TimberStar, last Tuesday.

The acreage in Burke County was sold in a 4.2 million acre deal made with RMS.

According to RMS president and CEO Bruno Fritschi, their clients plan for long-term timber investments, so people won't likely see any difference in the way the land is managed.

"Our management will continue to be for timber as opposed to development," Fritschi said.

Currently, the hunting rights on all 21,000 acres in Burke are leased to individuals and clubs.

RMS Director of Acquisitions Ed Sweeten said they plan to keep it that way.

"Our policy when it comes to hunting clubs is that those who lease the land now will most likely have the option to continue leasing that land," he said. "We believe in hunting clubs and will continue to lease that acreage to either absentee or local hunters."

RMS negotiated their 4.2 million acre portion of the deal on behalf of an investor group comprised of RMS, Forest Investment Associates and other investors.

The agreement included a 20year fiber supply agreement for International Paper's pulp and paper mills in the South, a 10year fiber supply agreement on the Michigan land for their coated paper facilities, and a 10year fiber supply agreement for their wood products facilities.

Fritschi emphasized the high quality of management that International Paper's foresters invested in their timberlands.

Sweeten said the only possible change they see in management practices is increased emphasis on saw timber and extended rotations, which would lengthen the growth period for the trees before they are harvested.

International Paper also recently sold substantial acreage in Wisconsin and several southern states to The Nature Conservancy and The Conservation Fund.

Those sales combined with last week's $6.1 million deal show International Paper to have sold a total of 5.4 million acres or approximately 85 percent of its U.S. land holdings.

The sales are part of the company's plan to focus on uncoated papers and industrial and consumer packaging. Land sold in Burke County and surrounding

Georgia counties by International Paper

Burke 21,000 Emanuel 37,000 Jefferson 23,500

Jenkins 20,000 Richmond 3,500 Screven 16,000

Source: International Paper